Oh where oh where has my big brother gone?

Benji has officially had enough of being an only child. Danny's been at Nana's for six straight days now, and Benji is finally ready for the "Big D" to get home.

His brother has had a FABULOUS time per Susanne who is with him now at Nana's in South Carolina, but she too thinks it may be time to head home. Apparently Danny's conversation with Benji on the phone tonight was along the lines of "it's been really fun at Nana's but it's boring"  (I will add that he's not been bored a moment. It's just that he's missing Benjamin).  We'll have to see how long this "Philadelphia" (City of Brotherly Love) lasts.

I know that I cannot wait to hug and kiss my precious four year old tomorrow night (even though Benji and I have had great fun alone these past few days.)

Can't wait til tomorrow. Love, Mommy

And the Walkin' Man Walks...

Our tiny time traveler...

Well he is sort of tiny. And he did travel for a long time yesterday.

Yes, Danny and his grandmother started their big week-long adventure yesterday by boarding a train in DC at around 10 am that, after a bit of delay, arrived at their destination in South Carolina at around 7 pm. Then they had the hour drive to Nana's house.

He had a blast! He was so excited to talk to us on the phone when they got home and sounded so happy. What was I worried about?

Benji however did not seem to have gotten the memo that our evening "night night" routines were to be easy peasy with Danny gone for a few nights. It's like he drank a few Red Bulls or something. Argh! Maybe tonight will be better? I sure hope.

Anyway, here is a cell phone pic of my our excited traveler minutes before boarding. Oh the places you'll go little Daniel. Oh the places you'll go! Love, your Moms

A family affair...

Presenting my newest cousin and his adorable family together with ours this weekend. As you may recall from some previous blog entries, I got a surpise about a month ago when I got a phone call out of the blue from a man who was trying to track down birth mom after his birth certificate had been unsealed.

Lo and behold, although it was not widely known in the family, my dad's sister had indeed had a child in the 1960s and had given him up for adoption. He's a really nice guy (as is his family) and although we won't see them too often as they don't live nearby, we hope to stay connected. His visit to his birth mom (and to his birth dad whom he also amazingly tracked down) went pretty well.

Welcome cousin! -Monica

Project Goldfish has been a big success...

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (without Danny for awhile)

Well Danny is four and tomorrow is his last day of school. He started as the smallest 3 year old in the bunch and although he's grown, so have all the other munchkins, so he's now one of the smallest 4 year olds in the class.  He's had a wonderful year at school. He can write some letters (he's very good at "D" and "A" now), and counts perfectly in Spanish. He's learned lots of songs and made wonderful friends. He's also developed a strong soccer kick, and has started having an opinion about the clothes he wears.

I've been most pleased with the smiley faces and "great day" notes that his teachers send home just about every day. Our goals this year were to see if he could write his name, dress himself, and not get so frustrated the second he can't figure something out. He's succeeded on all three fronts and we are so proud of him.

What words describe him? Witty, sweet, homebody, book lover, picky eater. Yup. That's him. And about a zillion other words.

So what's with the title of my post? Well, you see, he has about a week off between school ending and summer "camp", so he's taking a little trip with his Nana. They will take an Amtrak train from DC to South Carolina next week, and although Su will be going down later in the week to spend time there and bring him back, I won't see him for seven whole days.

You'd think I'd be rejoicing at no bedtime dilly dallying and the noise level dropping a few decibles. But no. I have a feeling a day without Danny will be like a day without sunshine. Can parents get separation anxiety? Just glad he'll be with his Nana where he'll be very happy and comfortable. But I'm gonna miss him... sigh...

I also think the boys will miss each other. I guess on the bright side, Benji might come to really like this "only child" syndrome that he's never experienced before. Only time will tell. -M

Visting family in Richmond = Great fun for all!

We took a quick trip to visit Su's dad (Pop Pop) and family in Richmond this weekend and as you can see, all the kids had a wonderful time. Let the games begin! -M

I really will blog again...I promise!

Wow. I can't believe I haven't posted in so long. So, where were we in the saga called life?

Well, my long lost cousin I wrote about is going to meet both his birth mother and birth father this weekend. Turns out he's quite the slueth. These two knew each other for a short time in the 1960s but did not stay in touch. He'll be meeting them both seperately and I like to think of this as sort of a fun soap opera. I hope it goes well for all involved!

I don't know if I mentioned that a goldfish we got for Danny on his birthday died about an hour after he got it. Seems there is something called "new fish tank syndrome" or something like that. We got some new stuff to add to our water and it passed some chemical tests so his second fish has been doing well for the past week. Wish us luck. It was no fun for anyone when fish #1 went to "swim with the fishies". On a positive note, both boys love our new fish.

Well, that's just about all I have time for today. I promise to keep up better in the future. Have a great day, and stay cool if you live here in the Northeast! -M